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In the late 1980s, the USA, Japan, Germany,
Great Britain and France spent a total of US$ 630 million
per day on research and development. By 1993, that
figure had grown to as much as US$ 1 billion. Yet, over
a period of 13 years, thirty of the world's top electronics
companies studied spent well over US$ 100 billion more on
R&D than they made in profits.
Competition for its own sake is taking its
toll on high-tech corporations around the world. At breathtaking
speeds, they are swamping markets with torrents of faster
and faster new product introductions. But in today's lean
and mean economy, with finicky customers and rising pressures
to save natural resources, mere novelty is not enough to
justify the enormous costs of cutthroat R&D.
Christoph-Friedrich von Braun offers a cogent
analysis of how we got this way, and several practical suggestions
for how we can stop. Taking a historical perspective and
a thorough analytical approach supported by numerous case
studies, Dr. von Braun provides you the tools to analyze
the R&D role in the readers own organization.
Starting with an overview of Thomas Edison's
milestones of innovation, Dr. von Braun traces the development
of industrial R&D from the technology boom of the early
twentieth century through the computer revolution of the
last decade. His finding is that the constant drive for
novelty has created a monster that often does more harm
than good for industries, corporations and markets in today's
global economy.
The unusual questions raised in this book
may lead you to some unexpected answers. Dr. von Braun offers
33 provocative hypotheses on the true costs and benefits
of R&D. After reading The Innovation War, you
may want to add a few hypotheses of your own.
Christoph-Friedrich von Braun is an independent
consultant and researcher, focusing on R&D, technology,
and organizational strategy.
Following four years as an engineering
consultant, Dr. von Braun spent twelve years inside the
electronics industry as a strategic planner, industry analyst,
R&D strategist. Since 1990 he has been an independent
international consultant for both the public and private
sectors. He has lived and worked in the USA, Germany, and
Japan, and retains a special interest in Japanese business
issues.
After receiving a law degree from the
Free University of Berlin, Dr. von Braun completed a Ph.D.
in Space Law at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and
received an MSC degree in technology management from MIT.
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